Chapter 1193: Certain Death, No Survival_2

“But,” Zhen Shan’s tone shifted, “this place is also filled with eeriness and danger. In this Metal Tomb, a peculiar lifeform has emerged, which we temporarily call ‘Metal-Devouring Phantoms.'”

“They are pure Energy Bodies, formed by the endless resentment, unwilling fighting spirit, and dense metallic Evil Qi on this battlefield. They have no physical form and can ignore most physical attacks, feasting on high-level metals and energy. A scouting team of ours, equipped with Divine Gold weapons, had them gnawed away in an instant by several phantoms. If they hadn’t retreated timely, they might have been drained of Divine Power and perished.”

“The most crucial thing is, these phantoms seem to exist in some kind of hierarchy. What we encountered was merely the roaming souls on the outskirts, but deeper in the tomb, we sensed several extremely terrifying presences. The resentment and Evil Qi there have already condensed into a storm!”

After hearing the two men’s report, the bridge sank into a deathly silence.

In front was the pursuit of the ‘Celestial Order,’ behind was the crisis of energy depletion, and below their only foothold was a perilous land fraught with danger.

This was truly a hopeless dead-end.

Everyone’s gaze once again focused on Xu Ran. They had grown accustomed to no matter how dire the circumstance, as long as this man stood, they still had hope.

Xu Ran was silent for a moment, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the console in front of him. He was thinking, weighing, looking for the sole way to break the situation.

Metal Tomb… Metal-Devouring Phantoms…

Energy Crisis… Ship Repair…

One keyword after another clashed and rearranged in his mind.

Suddenly, his tapping fingers stopped.

“Crisis is also an opportunity,” Xu Ran said slowly, his voice not loud, yet carrying a power that could calm the heart.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Cang Shi and Zhen Shan. In his deep eyes, not only was there no despair, but a fiery glow was igniting.

“This Metal Tomb, since it can give birth to phantoms that feed on Divine Gold, proves that there must be unimaginable, vast reservoirs of high-grade metals and energy sources here!”

“Our Pioneer is a warship forged from Divine Gold. To repair it, we need exactly these things!”

Cang Shi was momentarily stunned, then understood Xu Ran’s reasoning: “Our leader… intends to use local materials?”

“Precisely.” Xu Ran nodded, “Passive waiting only leads to a dead-end. To survive, we must take the initiative and carve a path to life from this realm of death!”

“Metal-Devouring Phantoms, being Energy Bodies, must essentially be the fusion of resentment and metal sources. Resentment, Gui Xu can transcend it. Metal sources are exactly what we need!”

He stood up, a powerful confidence and an aura of dominance spontaneously emanating from him.

“They feed on Divine Gold, so we’ll turn the tables and feed on them!”

These words were like a bolt of lightning, exploding in everyone’s hearts.

Feeding on those eerie and terrifying phantoms? What a bold, what a crazy idea!

Yet somehow, when spoken by Xu Ran, it seemed perfectly natural.

Zhen Shan felt his blood start to boil. He clasped his fists suddenly, his voice as loud as a bell: “Our leader, give the order! Zhen Shan is willing to be the vanguard to sweep this tomb for our leader!”

“No.” Xu Ran waved it off, “This time, I’ll go personally.”

He looked towards the distant metallic land shrouded in gray mist, his eyes growing distant and sharp.

“I intend not only to seize resources but to ‘see’ clearly the essence of this tomb and the root of these phantoms. Perhaps they can reveal some secrets of this Star Domain to me.”

His new ability ‘Dao Resolution’ was precisely an ultimate Divine Skill to explore the essence of all things.

…

An hour later.

Below the massive belly of the Pioneer, a hatch slowly opened.

Xu Ran, dressed in black, stood at the forefront. Following him were Zhen Shan and ten of the most composed and solid Presiding Generals.

They were the elite among the hundred Presiding Generals, each throne tempered through blood and fire, with wills as firm as divine iron.

The instant they stepped out of the ark, a desolate, deathly silent, and utterly tragic atmosphere hit them.

As far as the eye could see, the world was an ashen wasteland.

The earth was layered with the wreckage of countless warships. Twisted metallic mountains pierced the sky, shrouded in gray dust. A star mothership, so colossal it was hard to imagine, lay cut in half, its smooth cut gleaming like a mirror, lying silently on the horizon, like the corpse of an ancient god or demon.

The air was filled with a faint scent of rust and a chilling coldness that penetrated the Divine Soul.

There was no life here, only death. No sound, only eternal silence.

“What terrifying resentment…” a Presiding General couldn’t help but mutter.

They were masters of punishment and slaughter, extremely sensitive to negative energy. The resentment here was so thick it seemed to have materialized into an ocean, constantly washing over their Heart Spirits. If not for the protective divine thrones, ordinary deities staying here too long would likely have their Dao Hearts corrupted.

“Form the array, remain vigilant,” Zhen Shan commanded in a low voice. The eleven Presiding Generals instantly formed a small reincarnation Battle Array, with dark golden military law chains faintly appearing around them, isolating the pervasive resentment.

Xu Ran seemed unaffected.

His Eye of Gui Xu had long been activated. To his eyes, the scenes of this world appeared entirely different.

What he saw were not remains but strands and clusters of insuppressible will soaring skyward. They gathered above the sky, forming an ocean invisible to the naked eye, composed of “hatred” and “despair.”

Beneath the earth, those energy core hearts not yet fully extinguished, buried deep in the wreckage, and the ship’s keels forged from Immortal Divine Gold were emitting strands of purest, multicolored metal source Qi.

Resentment as the soul, source as the sustenance.

The mystery of the Metal-Devouring Phantoms’ birth was utterly visible in Xu Ran’s eyes.

“Let’s go to the area with the densest energy reactions,” Xu Ran determined a direction and strode forward.

Everyone followed closely behind, traversing this graveyard of giants. They were as small as ants, every step taken upon a forgotten, tragic history.

“Sss—”

Suddenly, a shrill, teeth-numbing scream emanated from the engine of a collapsed battleship ahead.

Next, a dozen semi-transparent, twisted humanoid gray shadows lunged out from the shadows!

Metal-Devouring Phantoms!

They moved faster than lightning, ignoring terrain obstructions, piercing directly through the thick metal deck, attacking the two presiding generals at the front.

“Humph! Such a tiny sparkle, and it dares to shine?”

The two presiding generals, battle-hardened as they were, reacted with astounding speed. They didn’t retreat but advanced, and the dark golden military law thrones behind them suddenly manifested!

“Military law is like a mountain, suppress!”

Buzz!

The invisible Power of Laws spread out, causing the dozen phantoms to suddenly stall, as if trapped in a quagmire. Under the suppression of military law will, their illusory bodies began to solidify.

“Slash!”

Another presiding general swung his battle halberd, with a golden Divine Light slicing through the air, striking one phantom precisely.

Sizzle!

The phantom let out a ghastly wail, its body split in two, dissipating into a wisp of smoke, leaving behind a tiny grain of silver-glowing metallic dust.

“It’s effective!” The presiding generals’ spirits lifted.

Yet, more phantoms, attracted by the scent of blood, swarmed from every direction. Hundreds and thousands of them, densely packed. Their shrieks merged into a terrifying mental storm, battering at everyone’s Divine Souls.

“Reincarnation Battle Array, exterminate!”

Zhen Shan roared, standing at the Array Hub, and the throne behind him erupted with the brightest radiance. The towering hundred-zhang Military Law Divine General’s phantom rose abruptly, gripping a giant sword forged from law chains, sweeping it fiercely!

Boom!